we’ll see
January has been interesting. Over the course of a month, I was recognized professionally, given some insights into a new opportunity, then doused with the challenges that come with working at a startup. Reflecting on the path that led here, I was reminded of a Taoist story that highlights the power of patience, perspective, and acceptance of what is.
There was a Taoist farmer whose only horse ran away. When his neighbors heard about it, they told him it was such an unfortunate turn of events.
"We'll see," the farmer replied.
Later that week, the horse returned with two wild horses. The neighbors came around again, excitedly telling him how wonderful it was.
"We'll see," he replied again.
When his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, he was thrown off and broke his leg. The neighbors stopped by again, offering sympathy on the misfortune.
"We'll see how things go," said the farmer.
A few days later, officials came to the village to draft young men into the military. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. Once again, the neighbors came by to congratulate the farmer on how well things had turned out…
In 2004, I worked a delivery job. It was physical work, and one day I hurt my back. While recovering, I was given the opportunity to cover the sales floor when a coworker took vacation. I did this off and on until the company was acquired. All the delivery jobs were eliminated. However, I was moved into a sales role as part of the acquisition. Years later, after taking a management job elsewhere, the company filed for bankruptcy as a result of the 2008 economic struggles. I started over, making less than half the pay in a new industry, technology.
I worked my way into a director title at that org, quitting in 2019 to recharge and take a year to find my next role. In March of 2020, everything changed due to the pandemic. I lost out on opportunities after “final interviews” due to hiring freezes. Then, a mentor reached out with a role she knew I wasn’t looking for, back as individual contributor in sales and marketing operations.
After a few months, I worked myself out of a job and was asked to build a sales team focused on new business pursuits. And although I had no intention of leaving that company, a new opportunity to build something from the ground up was presented to me and I had to take it. The following 20 months were very hard, adapting to an ever-changing and incredibly challenging startup environment. I made some bad hires and on more than one occasion, I wanted to quit.
Along the way, things happened that I oftentimes labeled as good or bad. But the truth is that they were neither, they were just life-things happening. So here I am, looking towards another transition with the help of some life-things.
We’ll see how 2024 plays out.